Russia to hold presidential vote in pro-Putin Transnistria

Russia’s Central Election Commission will open 24 polling stations and send 192,000 ballots to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria for the upcoming Russian presidential election, Balkan Insight reports. About 220,000 people have Russian citizenship in Transnistria, which is currently estimated to have a total population of a little more than 300,000. Moscow did not consult Chisinau on the move to draw residents of Transnistria out to vote in the Russian election. Russia is additionally opening 9 and 16 polling stations respectively in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.